Slaying in road dispute probed

Quiet, family man is seen as unlikely victim

It didn't surprise Roberto Hernandez's neighbors that he was with his family when he was shot dead in what was apparently a road rage killing Monday night.

What did surprise them was that anyone would target someone described as a quiet family man who had lived in the same Uptown apartment for at least 12 years.

"He was about the last person in the building you would have figured would have gotten tied up like this," said Bill Belcher, who lives in the same apartment complex as Hernandez in the 4400 block of North Magnolia Avenue.

Hernandez, 36, was shot to death in Little Village around 8:45 p.m. Monday, shortly after getting into an argument with the occupants of a second van, police said. His 8-year-old son was grazed by a bullet but was released Tuesday from Mt. Sinai Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The altercation began when the driver of a Chevrolet Astro or GMC Safari tried to pass the Ford Aerostar that Hernandez was driving in the 2300 block of South Ridgeway Avenue about 8 p.m. Monday.

"They wouldn't let him pass," said Marquette District Lt. Sam Cozzo.

Why Hernandez didn't let the van pass on South Ridgeway was unclear.

Both vans stopped at Ridgeway and 23rd Street where the argument ensued. Two men wearing white dress shirts exited the first vehicle and threw a bottle of beer at Hernandez's vehicle, Cozzo said.

Words were exchanged, but Hernandez apparently did not get out of his van, which was carrying at least five passengers, including his 8-year-old son, according to police and witness accounts.

Hernandez drove away from the argument, and the second van followed, catching up to him as he was stopped at a traffic light on West 25th Street, facing east toward Central Park Avenue.

The second van turned right onto 25th Street from Central Park and came to a stop beside Hernandez, police said.

The driver and possibly a passenger then fired four to six shots at Hernandez's van, striking him in the chest and left arm, police said.

The shooter's van, a dark green, mid-1990s Astro or Safari with a white side stripe, tinted rear window and uncovered spare tire mounted on the rear door, then sped away, Cozzo said.

Police had no one in custody in connection with the shooting Tuesday evening and were still trying to sort out what happened in the altercation that led to Hernandez's death.

Hernandez wasn't the type to make trouble for anyone, said his neighbor, Belcher. Hernandez and his family, including two sons, a daughter and his wife, kept to themselves and he and his wife worked from home, doing odd jobs such as tailoring and sewing, Belcher said.

"He was the kind of guy who would work seven days a week and when he would go out, he would take his family with him," he said.